Google readies launch of iPhone rival
Search engine company tests mobile operators' reaction to its Nexus One handset.
Google has approached T-Mobile and Vodafone to gauge interest in Nexus One before its launch in the UK next year. Photograph: JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images
Google has approached several mobile phone operators in the UK, including T-Mobile and Vodafone, to gauge their interest in supporting its rival to the iPhone ahead of its launch in Britain next year. The internet firm has been working with Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC on a mobile phone called the Nexus One, after the 'replicants' in Ridley Scott's science-fiction film Blade Runner.
Two years ago, Google launched its own mobile phone software, called Android, to try to attract mobile users to its services. The company, which has come to dominate the internet for computer users, has watched rivals, especially Apple, encroach on its territory on the mobile web. Several Android phones have already been released, but Google has had to develop them in partnership with handset manufacturers and mobile networks, so all have involved compromise.
While critically successful, the current crop of Android devices has not had a big effect on Apple's position.
The Nexus will be the first device over which the internet search company has had full control and will be Google branded. Retailers expect Google to sell the Nexus One direct to customers through its website.
The talks come as Vodafone gets ready to announce its launch date and pricing for the iPhone, which the company will start stocking in the UK in mid-January. It is understood to have been in talks with Apple to undercut current pricing, but to little avail. Its tariffs are expected to be similar to those of existing stockists.
Retailers do not expect Vodafone to go in fierce pursuit of iPhone customers. The company is putting its marketing cash behind its Vodafone 360 suite of services, which it has been developing for about two years. The first 360 handset is in shops but sales have reportedly been poor.
The arrival of the iPhone on Vodafone means there are now four mobile phone companies supplying the device in the UK.
Orange started selling the iPhone last month, ending O2's two-year long exclusive grip on the handset, while Tesco started selling the device last week.
source
Google has approached T-Mobile and Vodafone to gauge interest in Nexus One before its launch in the UK next year. Photograph: JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images
Google has approached several mobile phone operators in the UK, including T-Mobile and Vodafone, to gauge their interest in supporting its rival to the iPhone ahead of its launch in Britain next year. The internet firm has been working with Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC on a mobile phone called the Nexus One, after the 'replicants' in Ridley Scott's science-fiction film Blade Runner.
Two years ago, Google launched its own mobile phone software, called Android, to try to attract mobile users to its services. The company, which has come to dominate the internet for computer users, has watched rivals, especially Apple, encroach on its territory on the mobile web. Several Android phones have already been released, but Google has had to develop them in partnership with handset manufacturers and mobile networks, so all have involved compromise.
While critically successful, the current crop of Android devices has not had a big effect on Apple's position.
The Nexus will be the first device over which the internet search company has had full control and will be Google branded. Retailers expect Google to sell the Nexus One direct to customers through its website.
The talks come as Vodafone gets ready to announce its launch date and pricing for the iPhone, which the company will start stocking in the UK in mid-January. It is understood to have been in talks with Apple to undercut current pricing, but to little avail. Its tariffs are expected to be similar to those of existing stockists.
Retailers do not expect Vodafone to go in fierce pursuit of iPhone customers. The company is putting its marketing cash behind its Vodafone 360 suite of services, which it has been developing for about two years. The first 360 handset is in shops but sales have reportedly been poor.
The arrival of the iPhone on Vodafone means there are now four mobile phone companies supplying the device in the UK.
Orange started selling the iPhone last month, ending O2's two-year long exclusive grip on the handset, while Tesco started selling the device last week.
source
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